TV child expert heading to Sunderland for conference on young children's education

Together for Children, the company delivering children’s services in Sunderland, is hosting its first Early Years conference, focusing on the education of children aged five and up.

TV development psychologist Dr Sam Wass and education consultant Alistair Bryce Clegg have now been confirmed on the line-up.

The pair will share their cutting edge knowledge on children’s development with staff from schools, nurseries and education providers.

Dr Sam Wass, development psychologist from the Channel 4 series The Secret Life of 4,5 and 6 Year Olds, said: “I’m really looking forward to visiting the North East and in particular speaking at Together for Children’s Early Years Conference.

"Working on the show, I’ve had the opportunity to observe, for the first time, how children’s stress and excitement levels are continuously changing throughout the day - how getting told off, or having an argument with a friend can have a knock-on effect on how a child is behaving 10 minutes later. I’ll be sharing these insights at the conference.”

Dr Wass’s speech ‘How does the brain change between infancy and middle childhood’ will discuss neuroscience into brain development during early childhood.

The conference will also host Alistair Bryce Clegg, a well-known education consultant, award-winning author and product designer.

Mr Bryce Clegg’s speech ‘Creating a Space that Feeds Creativity and Challenges Learning’ demonstrate the impact a well-planned environment can have on the creativity and attainment of children.

Simon Marshall, director of education at Together for Children, said: “In hosting this conference, the first of its kind for our organisation, we’re hoping to give practitioners in Sunderland and the North East the opportunity to discover new approaches and practical ideas that they can then take back to their schools and nurseries.”

The conference will also be offering three seminars: Seven Stories hosted by The National Centre for Children’s Books based in Newcastle, House of Objects based in North Tyneside which offer workshops and access to recycled materials for resources and Boldon Outdoor Nursery, an outstanding nursery school based in South Tyneside.

Simon added: “We are very proud to be able to offer this conference to the practitioners of Sunderland and hope that the city and region get right behind it as it’s not every day we get such high calibre speakers at Early Years conferences.”

Places are still available on ‘The Endless Possibilities of Creativity’ Conference on March 27, you can contact the team for more information or to book a place on 0191 561 2840 or email [email protected]

To find out more about Together for Children visit www.togetherforchildren.org.uk